Mancebo wins final stage and overall at Gila

Image 1 of 33

Francisco "Paco" Mancebo took a second stage at the Gila Monster Road Race. The Spaniard finished the race ahead of two young riders Lachlan Morton (Chipotle Development) in second and Joe Dombrowski (Trek-Livestrong).

"Paco definitely repaid his teammates back for all their hard work by winning today," said Gord Fraser, RealCyclist.com directeur sportif. "The guys did a great job, especially Cole House who kept everything in check for the first part of the race. It was a very aggressive race today. We executed really well today."

Mancebo opened the five-stage race with a victory atop the Mogollon ascent in stage one and maintained his overall lead through the final stage. He won the race ahead of stage three time trial-winner Dale Parker (Trek-Livestrong) in second and Morton in third.

"It's been a great thing for our development riders to have a rider like Paco on the team," Fraser said. "For RealCyclist.com we are sweeping the NRC and we will try our best to win more, next at the Joe Martin Stage Race. Our sponsors were here watching today and they are really happy about this win, we are stoked."

Mancebo also took home the King of the Mountain (KOM) jersey, while the Trek-Livestrong team won the event's best young rider competition with Parker, the best sprinter competition with stage four criterium winner Joe Lewis and the best overall team competition.

"We had an exceptional week, with two stage wins, the point jersey, the young rider jersey, the team GC and the podium today," said Axel Merckx, Trek-Livestrong directeur sportif. "I am really pleased with the guys and they did an unbelievable job. They worked hard and they want to get better through the season. "

Mancebo shines on climbs through the Cliff Dwellings and Gila Monster

The Pro-Cat 1 men's field rolled off the start line with some 150 riders and contest a 170kms stage that included two bonus sprints, five KOMs located 25kms into the race on NM 152, two on NM 15 near the famed Cliff Dwellings at kilometre mark 96 and 128, one at the lower section of the final climb on NM 15 at 144kms and the final located at the finish line in Pinos Altos at 170kms.

Team were off to an aggressive stage including Bissell, in hot pursuit of the first bonus sprint, Kenda/5-hour Energy, Pure Black Racing and Team Exergy. Danny Summerhill (Chipotle Development) won the sprint ahead of Frank Pipp (Bissell) and Phil Gaimon (Kenda/5-hour Energy).

A large breakaway split off the front of the field just in time for the first KOM won by Summerhill, and followed by Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell) and Alex Howes (Chipotle Development).

The breakaway was short lived and the field reunited upon entering the town of San Lorenzo, 35kms into the stage. However a second breakaway emerge to include Jacques-Maynes and his teammate Jay Thompson (Bissell), Darren Rolfe (V Australia), Tim Gudsell (Pure Black Racing), Jacob Rathe (Chipotle Development), Shawn Milne and James Stemper (Kenda/5-hour Energy).

The breakaway rolled into the second bonus sprint won by Thompson and followed by Rolfe and Gudsell. The breakaway was caught at the second KOM line heading on the climb out to the Cliff Dwellings. The climbers emerge and Tyler Wren (Jamis-Sutter Home) won the race to the top of the ascent followed by Glen Chadwick (Pure Black Racing), Mancebo, Michael Frieberg (V Australia) and Ian Burnett (RealCyclist.com).

Chadwick attacked his breakaway companions and began the ascent out of the Cliff Dwellings alone with a strong group of chasers in pursuit. Chris Baldwin (Bissell) launched himself out of the field on the ascent followed by Matt Cooke (Team Exergy) and George Bennett (Trek-Livestrong). Mancebo bridged across to the riders close to the top of the climb approximately 130kms in the stage. Chadwick picked up full points at the KOM on the top of the climb.

With the field closing in fast, Mancebo took his chances and attacked the breakaway before the final ascent of the day. Bennett was the only rider capable of rejoining the race leader for approximately half of the final climb. Mancebo attacked again and rode to the finish line with a solo victory.

"They were going to stay together and Paco was nursing those guys a bit on the downhill and wanted company, but there was a moment where some of the riders were coming back and it was about 35 seconds to the field behind, and he had to go. Bennett stayed with him for a while until one little kicker near the end."

Back in the bunch, a small group made it to the bottom of the climb intact. The remaining riders in the breakaway were caught on the climb, predominantly due to a massive chase effort from several Chipotle Development riders.

"When Mancbeo first went in the Cliff Dwelling I felt like that was too early," Morton said. "But, the last climb flattened out more than I remembered and in the end my team just had to ride the front. My two teammates did a fantastic job driving it down the hill and into the last climb. I rode flat out on the last climb with Howes and there were about seven guys with us."

Morton crossed the finish line in second place ahead of a small group of seven riders that included Dombrowski, Howes and Parker along with Cooke, Baldwin, Chadwick, Rob Britton (Bissell) and Andres Diaz (Team Exergy).

Donovan earns stage victory while Hughes takes the overall

Kathryn Donovan (Missing Link-Specialized) rode solo to victory in what was arguably the biggest race of her season, the Gila Monster Road Race. She got away from her breakaway companions late in the race, and soloed to the line ahead of Lex Albrecht (Juvederm) in second and Heather Logan-Sprenger (Colavita Forno D’Asolo) in third.

"We rotated through until about five miles before the climb but my teammate was in the breakaway and she pulled us to the base of the climb," Donovan said.

"I just tried to keep it steady because I didn’t want to totally blow up so I just rode within myself. I was surprised to have gained so much time but I didn’t see them after the base of the climb. The goal was to try to be in the breakaway and we ended up with two."

Hughes, who took over the leader’s jersey after winning the stage three time-trial, and backed up by winning the stage four criterium had a solid final day to take her first overall title at the SRAM Tour of the Gila. She finished the race ahead of former winner Mara Abbott (Diadora-Pasta Zara) in second and Donovan in third.

"I’m happy to win the overall here," a triumphant Hughes said.

"I wanted to come out of this race with good form and I felt stronger and stronger every day. It is just the beginning for me, I still have a lot of work to do, but I finally got to do the Tour of the Gila. I’m really stoked to have done this race, it was a really great race and I will definitely be back."

Albrecht won the event’s best young rider competition. Colavita Forno D’Asolo took home the event’s best sprinter jersey with Heather Logan-Sprenger, the Queen of the Mountain jersey with Andrea Dvorak, and won the best overall team competition.

"It was an amazing week and I didn’t expect it whatsoever," Logan-Sprenger said about the team’s performance.

"We just have such a strong team and it was fun and I think that’s what allows us to do well in the races, we work so well together. I think we are a smart team and we pick the moments to be aggressive and use our energy well."

How it unfolded: Stalemate tactics result in winning breakaway

The Pro-Cat 1,2 women’s field were treated to a gorgeous spring morning in the high and dry deserts of Silver City, New Mexico. The peloton arrived at the fifth and final stage prepared to take on the most challenging route of the race, a 115km circuit that culminated atop the 25km Gila Monster ascent.

The action began when a small breakaway escaped that included Amber Pierce (Diadora-Pasta Zara), Kristin Sanders (Colavita Forno D’Asolo) and Olivia Dillon (Peanut Butter & CO Twenty12). The group however was reabsorbed shortly after and the field split into three or four groups at the onset of attacks heading into the first bonus sprint of the day.

The women contested the first bonus sprint that also included valuable time bonus seconds, at the 16km mark. Janel Holcomb (Colavita Forno D’Asolo), who is placed fourth in the overall classification, won the sprint and collected three seconds ahead of third placed on GC Rhae Shaw (Cycle U) and Dvorak.

The three groups nearly merged back together before the first Queen of the Mountain (QOM) won by Dvorak and followed by Flavia Oliviera (Pactimo) and Abbott, tying all three riders in the event’s best climber’s competition.

The field separated for a second time and all three of the top overall contenders, Clara Hughes, Abbott and Shaw were present. The split in the field did not last long however and the group, once again, regrouped.

A breakaway of seven riders emerged that included Logan-Sprenger, Albrecht, Donovan along with Anna Barensfeld (Missing Link-Specialized), Jessica Phillips (Ajax Tavern), Lauren Tamayo (Peanut Butter & Co Twenty12) and Emily Kachorek (Primal-MayMyRide), who was the highest placed riders on GC at six minutes back.

A stale-mate in tactics took place between race leader Clara Hughes and runner up in GC Mara Abbott (Diadora-Pasta Zara), both of which did not want to put forth the effort to chase the breakaway. The peloton slowed and allowed the escapees to gain nearly 10 minutes, at the 60kms mark, heading into the final climb of the day.

"I have no team and that is the choice I make to possibly losing the race," Hughes said. "I have no idea what the Diadora team was doing and I probably wouldn’t have done that. They sat at the front and slowed it down and then chased at the end through the valley. It was kind of bizarre. This was a training camp for me. But, I knew if I could keep them in sight at the bottom of the climb then I could make it. It was all power after that."

Donovan attacked from the breakaway at the base of the ascent and muscled her way into a more than sizable lead, winning the stage by more than four minutes ahead of her breakaway companions. She started the day 18th place overall, 8:35 minutes down, but made up enough time on the leaders at the finish line to rocket into third place overall.

Albrecht tried to bridge across to Donovan on the ascent but never quite made it, however, she secured second place on the day. Logan-Sprenger won the sprint to the finish line for third place ahead of her breakaway companions Phillips in fourth and Kachorek in fifth.

The main field started the ascent nine and half minutes later where Abbott and Dvorak emerged as the strongest climbers on the initial steep section. Hughes powered her way across to the duo as the road became shallower in gradient. The three rode together until a technical twisty section where Hughes put forth a monster attack and broke away solo in pursuit of the finish line. She was later rejoined by Dvorak, Abbott however was unable to regain the time she lost.

"We got no information on the climb so I just rode hard," Hughes said.

"I was dropped on the climb at first but made my way back up. I took two corners on the descent fast and both of them were gone. I was really happy that Andrea came back and she worked really hard. I had no idea what the time splits where. I treated it like a time trial and knew I could do it. I just wanted to ride hard and I did everything I could today."

Results